The Institute of Musical Traditions (IMT) is a nonprofit organization that preserves and promotes American and international folk music traditions and nutures new styles evolving from these cultural roots by presenting concerts, workshops, and educational programs.
Born from the House of Musical Traditions, our world-class performances, programs and other activities are funded through donations from corporations, foundations and public agencies, but mostly through ticket sales and contributions from individuals.
IMT presents:
Our weekly Monday Night Concert series at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville.
Our new series of Next to the House concerts at Contradiction Dance in Takoma Park.
Special Events at other venues in the area.
Workshops and Master Classes with visiting performers.
You can find the full schedule, get directions and buy tickets on the IMT web site . To receive IMT's weekly email newsletter with the latest information on upcoming shows, send your name and email address to [email protected]. (We won't share your address with anyone else!)
And please, help spread the word--invite your MySpace friends to the shows you think they would enjoy.
MONDAY NIGHT CONCERTS
IMT has been presenting concerts in Montgomery County since 1981. Our Monday Night Concert series runs fall, winter and spring at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville at 10701 Old Georgetown Rd.
Upcoming Monday Night Concerts:
May 11 - Tanglefoot
“Stan Rogers meets Van Halen†is how one fan described them, and Tanglefoot is indeed a potent brew of full-throttle energy, musical agility and exquisite vocal polish. They are one of Canada's busiest acoustic/roots bands, and since 1998 have maintained a relentless touring schedule across Canada, the United States and Britain.
They’re also a noteworthy group of songwriters, “...masters of the storytelling tradition, (with) elegant, sensitive musicianship and an impressive range of talentâ€, according to BBC Yorkshire, while the Chester Chronicle exclaimed, “The huge impact of their adept songwriting, spectacular vocal harmonies and strong instrumental accompaniment is hard to resist.â€
Tanglefoot on MySpace .
May 18 - Téada
Téada, now firmly established as one of Irish music's leading exponents on the international music stage, continues to be driven by a fascination with the timeless, expressive force of tunes inherited from previous generations of musicians. 2008 is proving to be an extremely good year for the group, with a performance at Edmonton Folk Festival in Canada and a headlining
appearance at the Penang World Music Festival in Malaysia, as well as their return with their hugely popular Irish Christmas in America show at the National Geograhic Society in Washington. The group also received an invitation from the Irish Embassy in Rome to perform at a commemorative event marking anniversary of the landmark event in Irish history known as “The Flight of the Earlsâ€.
Teada on MySpace .
NEW NEXT TO THE HOUSE CONCERTS
IMT's Monday Night Concert series provides an ideal venue to present traditional musicians who can draw an ample audience. However, there are a number of performers that IMT would like to introduce to the DC area who need to be presented in a more informal venue.
To provide a home for concerts by emerging artists, IMT has partnered with Contradiction Dance Studio in Takoma Park to begin the "Next to the House" concert series. This series features musicians with promising careers ahead of them, whom we expect may soon be performing at major venues in the area and across the country.
Ticket prices are $12 to $15. The shows take place in Contradiction Dance's studio next to the House of Musical Traditions, at 7014 Westmoreland Avenue, just off Carroll Avenue in Takoma Park. It's a short walk from the Takoma Park Metro station, and there's parking in front of Contradiction Dance and next door behind the House of Musical Traditions.
Come meet some new artists that we think you'll be hearing much more from in the future, and get to know a great new music venue.
The first Next to the House concert in October featured Joy Kills Sorrow, a new band of young Boston-based old-time musicians, including the first musician to graduate from the Berklee College of Music with a degree in mandolin performance. Their lead singer, Emma Beaton, won the Canadian Folk Music Awards 2008 Young Performer of the Year title shortly after their Takoma Park show. Joy Kills Sorrow's Myspace page
For our November show we welcomed The Bowmans from Brooklyn. Sisters Sarah and Claire are currently recording a new CD with producer Malcolm Burn, who won a Grammy for producing Emmylou Harris’ CD Red Dirt Girl. The Bowman's Myspace page
In December, IMT welcomed Gregory Alan Isakov. Greg, born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and raised in Philadelphia, moved to Colorado at the end of the last decade. Isakov is the 2007 winner of the Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Competition. Greg's Myspace page
For the first Next to the House concert of the new year, IMT presented Justin Trawick, winner of the “Emerging Artist Competition†at the 2006 Takoma Park Folk Festival. Go to Justin’s MySpace page to hear some of his music. In late January, IMT presented Firewheel, a duo from Takoma Park that features John Kadlecik and Katy Gaughan. John, cofounder and lead guitarist of Dark Star Orchestra, plays with Katy, a hand drummer and drum circle facilitator who has been drumming in Takoma Park for almost 10 years. Go to Firewheel’s MySpace page to hear some of their music. In February, the Next to the House welcomed Elise Witt, followed by award-winning singer-songwriters Cletus Kennelly and Lori Kelley ( Cletus and Lori on MySpace ) with Billy Coulter ( Billy Coulter on MySpace ). For March NTTH presented singer/songwriter Ben Carroll ( Ben Carroll on MySpace ), joined by his dad Jon Carroll, and the Kitchen Quartet ( the Kitchen Quartet on MySpace >, showcasing Irish music and sean nos dance.
Upcoming Next to the House Concerts:
Sunday, May 17, 7:30 pm - The Haints
Old-time band The Haints are releasing the band’s new CD, Shout Monah. The Haints features Erynn Marshall on fiddle, vocals and uke, Pharis Romero on lead vocals and guitar, and Jason Romero on banjo, lead vocals, and banjo-uke. The band has a penchant for obscure, old tunes and songs that are seldom heard in today’s day and age. They also play string band tunes from the era of early radio and before.
Jason Romero is a well known luthier and will be performing on banjos he has made. Fiddler Erynn Marshall has recently moved to Virginia to start her new job as music coordinator of the Blue Ridge Music Center.
The Haints Web Page .
Sunday, May 24, 7:30 pm - Richard Gilewitz
Touted as one of the strangest men in acoustic music by Spectrum Magazine, fingerstyle guitarist Richard Gilewitz lives up to this depiction with his rousing performances filled with amazing chops, humor, and a history of the acoustic guitar from blues to folk, traditional to classical and somewhere in between. His use of banjo style picking patterns, classical arpeggios and tapping and harmonics with a rhythmic and percussive approach bring a fresh impression to the listener.
Richard Gilewitz' Web Page .
Monday, June 8, 7:30 pm - Hokum's Heroes
Hokum's Heroes play early 20th century pop, twining together the roots of early jazz, country, rags, folk, vaudeville, gospel, string band, jug band and gin house blues, all with spontaneity, modern sensibilities and a big backbeat. Its members have worked on the frontlines of America’s best roots music.
There will be a free screening before the concert of Sweet Old Song, a film about the musical and artistic partnership of Howard “Louie Bluie†Armstrong and Barbara Ward.
Hokum's Heroes on MySpace .
